Prevent Kidney Disease | How to tips and tricks

You might think that the kidneys only filter waste from your body, but your kidneys also regulate your blood pressure, protect your bones, and keep minerals and fluids balanced in your body, among other things. Unfortunately, one in three Americans is at risk for chronic kidney disease. This disease most often develops as a consequence of another condition (like diabetes or heart disease) and develops over the course of several months or years. There are things you can do to reduce your risk for this damaging kidney disease.

Improving Your Diet
Reduce your sodium intake. Watch how much sodium you eat and limit it to 2,300 mg of sodium a day. This is equal to about one teaspoon of salt. If you eat too much sodium, fluid can build up in your body causing swelling and shortness of breath. Try seasoning with herbs or spices instead of salt. Cut back on foods that are high in sodium. These include: Sauces Salted snacks Cured foods and lunch meats Canned and convenience foods

Cut back on sugars
Studies have shown that sugar plays a large role in contributing to obesity and diabetes, both of which can lead to chronic kidney disease. To reduce your sugar intake, read food labels since many foods contain sugar even if they aren't considered to be sweet treats. For example, condiments, breakfast cereals, and white breads are all high in sugar. Remember to cut back on sodas since these contain high amounts of sugar. They also have kidney-damaging phosphorus additives and offer no nutritional value. Note that added sugar comes in many forms — in fact, there are at least 61 different names for sugar you might find on an ingredients list. These include sucrose, high-fructose corn syrup, barley malt, dextrose, maltose, rice syrup, glucose, cane juice, and more.

Prepare own food
When you make your own meals, you can choose whole grains, fruits, and vegetables that are minimally processed. Packaged foods that are processed are high in sodium and phosphorus additives which are bad for your kidneys. Try to eat 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day. In general, visualize a serving size of fruits or vegetables by looking at the size of your palm. One portion is about the amount of food you could hold in the palm of your hand.

Avoid protein from saturated fats
Researchers are still studying the relationship between high-protein diets and chronic kidney disease. While you shouldn't avoid proteins, or even fats, you should reduce the amount of red meat, full-fat dairy and saturated fats that you eat to only a few times a week. If you develop kidney disease, your kidneys will work harder to break down the waste from eating and digesting meat. Foods high in saturated fats include: Processed meats: deli meat, sausages, cured meats Butter, ghee, lard Cream Hard cheeses Coconut or palm oils

Eat unsaturated fats
You shouldn't completely avoid fats. Unsaturated fats, such as monounsaturated fatty acids and polyunsaturated fatty acids (which includes healthy Omeg-3 fatty acids), can reduce your cholesterol. Lowering your cholesterol can reduce your risk for heart disease which can cause kidney disease. To include unsaturated fats in your diet, eat: Oily fish: salmon, mackerel, sardines Avocados Nuts and seeds Oils: sunflower, rapeseed, olive

Change Lifestyle
Exercise. Being overweight or obese can increase your risk for chronic kidney disease. You should exercise to help you lose weight and lower your blood pressure, both of which will reduce your chances of developing kidney disease. Try to get at least 150 minutes of moderate exercise every week. Studies have shown that obese people are twice as likely to develop chronic kidney disease. If your Body Mass Index is over 30, you're considered to be obese.

Avoid tobacco
You might think that smoking damages the lungs the most, but it can cause heart disease. Heart disease, strokes, and heart attacks will make your kidneys work harder and can cause kidney disease.